Sharpener



Aug. 10, 1943. w. J. DUNCAN SHARPENER Filed Jan. 3, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l AMY/ am 1' Duncan.

INVENTOR.

f? 770RN5 Y.

n 3 F IIL Aug. 10, 1943. w. J. DUNCAN SHARPENER 2 Sheets-Sheet? Filed Jan. 5, 1941 I/W/k'am 1007762242,.

INVENTOR. 261 6. @0266,

' with a longitudinal swinging Patented Aug. 10, 1943 SHARPENER 5 Claims.

The invention relates to a sharper e1 for instruments such as knives, blades, etc.

it is one of the objectsoi the invention to provide a sharpener wherein the instrument is stroked transversely of the sharpening element motion o that'the sharpening action will be the same as thatchtained by using a steel.

Another object of the invention is toaccurately position the instrument being sharpened as to singularity with respect to the sharpening element so that a uniform cutting edge will beprovided.

Another object of the invention is to provide a to slide with the instrumentin the shai'; ning stroke that the instrument may along the sharpening element.-

" Another objector" the invention is to provide'a horizontally disposed sharpening element with guide carriagerelative thereto. 7 Another object of theinvention is to resiliently support a guide carriage for the instrument to be sharpened upon sharpening device.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a carriage which has an adjustable" portion thereon to accurately position an instrument to sharpened by movement of the carriage.

A till further object of the invention is to provide a sharpening device with a spring pressed carriage so as to hold the -carriage in proper'-po sitionduring the sharpening operation. Other'and' further objects of the invention will be readily apparent-when the following-description is consideredin connection with them:- companyin'g drawings wherein: -Fi'g, 1 is a side elevation of one form. of the sharpener with the carriage in place adjacent the Fig. 6 is a top plan view looking down on th device of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line of Fi 5. Fig. 8 shows another modification of the carriage support.

In Fig. 1 abase 2 is provided with the uprights by the carriage and guided uniformly William J. Duncan, Houstoii, "iex. I t

Application January 3, IS iLJSerial no. erases" j 3' and" 3 which serve as suppe-rtthe frame 5. This frame is in turn arranged to receive a sharpening element 'l su-ch as awhetstone or hone. This element ispreferably 'heldinplace by the upstanding cii-es 8 which may be struck out of the material in the bottom of the frame 5, as seen in Fig. 2.

It is to be understood that the sharpening element niaybeof any'desired length or width dependingupon the type'of sharpenerwhich-is" V contemplated. In order to hold thesharp'ener in proper position, a handle it isshown as" af-' fixed by the bolt i i to thefraniela and upright 3. A carriage 55 has been illustrated as being slidably mounted in a pos'i-tionto' enclose the hone oa -sharpening: element 1, and this carriage isin the general confi uration of 'U-sh-aped body I 6 having upstanding side-plates il thereon.

These side plates fit aroundthe frame SE -and the sharpeningelerrlent l as 'seen in Figs. l to 3 inclusive. This carriage is arranged for-sliding movement longitudinally of the sharpeningele.

rnent, and it -is' desired thatthe carriage be read- Iily slid'able along the sharpening'element. t ith this in spring idl lasbeen positioned-beneath the n me 5 and has the; curved or bowed I end; til passed through the opening ''iljinto the bottomor" the frame'-"5.

thereof to bear upwardly against the bottom of the frame 5 and against thebottom nitric-caringest. A wedge 32* driven through the-other end of the sprin-g inside of the frame 5 hold's the spr ing firmly xi-place. In this manner the carriage is resiliently positioned relative to the honsharpened, and the sidewalls ll are inclined downwardly from the ends thereof toward .the

center to provide a face 24 on which the instrument 23 is to rest, as seen in the righthandside of Fig. l. The inclinationoi this face 24 is such that the desired bevel willbe cut on the edge of the instrument blade 23. r

' In order to determine the position'of the blade 23 relative tothe cutting face 25 of the sharpening element an adjustablestop 26 is afiixed. by

The inherent resiliency of this member causes'the'centr al portion?! 1 face the correct amount. The position of the abutting against the inclined surface 2910f the 7 stop plate 26. The plate will be adjusted so that the upper face of the instrument 23 will engage the surface 29 at about the same time that the cutting edge engages thev sharpening element. The plate 25 may be of a hardened material so I In order to avoid friction losses between the carriage l5 and the frame 5, additional ball bearings 50 have been positioned in the ends of the carriage frame l6 as seen in Fig. 7, and these bearings reduce the friction between the carriage and theframe of the sharpener. In operation this form of the invention will be the same as Fig. 1.

that it will act as a steel to'prevent afeather edge on the blade. The blade will be placed with the hilt of the blade close to the carriage and with;

come skilled in sharpening the blade with this de-' vice so that only a few strokes are necessary to place a very delicate edge upon'the instrument blade.

The spring [8 yieldably supports the carriage so that the desired pressure can be applied to 7 force the blade against the cutting; element and in this way a sharpening action is assured on each stroke because the carriage will yield to any desired pressure which may be applied.

Fig. 4 shows a modified form of the carriage where only oneside wall [1 and one stop plate 26 are utilized because the opposite side 3| of the carriage is cut away.

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 show another form of the device wherein the spring l8 has been dispensed with and a trackway 40-aflixed to the supports 3. trackway is substantially semicircular in fornras This r seen in Fig. 7 and receives the bearing 4| which is arranged to slide or roll therein. The legs 3 and 4 limit the stroke of the carriage.

The-base of the carriage l5 carries the fingers 43 which are spaced apart to enclose a little more than one-half of the bearing, and a bearing plate 44 carried by the carriage l5 presses against the top of the hearing. In thismanner there is a point contact between the carriageand the trackway '40 tending to support the. carriage for sliding movement. While one stone has been illustrated several narrower stones may be used and placed side by side with a small clearance between them;

Fig. 8 shows still another form wherein the trackway 52 receives the spring fingers 53 on the carriage so as to resiliently support the carriage beneath the frame 5.

The base shown may or may not be included because the larger types will probably be permanently fixed to a table, the wall or a bench.

, What is claimed is:

' 1. A sharpener including a sharpening element, an'instrument carriage, means to slidably support said carriage adjacent said element including a spring disposed beneath the sharpening element to yieldably hold said carriage for depression by the instrument being sharpened.

2. A sharpener including a sharpening element, an instrument carriage, means to slidably support said carriage adjacent said element including a spring disposed beneath the sharpening element to yieldably hold said carriage for depression by the instrument being sharpened, said spring having curved portions at its ends.

3. A sharpener including a sharpening element, an instrument carriage to slidably receive the instrument being sharpened as such instrument is drawn across the carriage, means to slidably support said carriage adjacent said element including a-spring to yieldably hold said carriage for depression by the instrument being sharpened, said spring being connected beneath said element.

4.. A sharpener including a sharpening element, an instrument carriage to slidably receive the instrument being sharpened as such instrument is drawn across the carriage, means-to slidably support said carriage adjacent said element including a spring to yieldably hold said carriage for depression by the instrument being sharpened, said spring beingconnected beneath said element and spring fingers onsaid carriage to ride on said spring.

5. A sharpener of the character described comprising a base, a frame thereon, a sharpening element thereon, a carriage, means to slidably support said carriage by the frame for movement, means on said carriage to guide the device to be sharpened-as the carriage slides along the element, said additional means including an inclined faceto slidablysupport the device as it is drawn across the sharpening element, and an adjustable stop for the device so that it may be drawn across the carriage as the carriage travels along the element.

WILLIAM J. DUNCAN. 

